OF THE ANTARCTIC VOYAGE, 325 
mucus, with spores most distinctly furnished with a pellucid 
limbus. "These receptacles are scattered by thousands in the 
surface or corticallayer, and when their contents are ripe, 
they stain the hands of a rich brownish-black. As the weed 
dries, the contraction of the tissue expels the spores and mu- 
cus; which, on hardening, form myriads of little black tuber- 
cles on the surface; and then alone is the fructification 
conspicuous, All this is precisely as in Himanthalia; except 
that the central substance of this plant consists of large 
transverse cells. Greville, quoting Bory in confirmation, 
calls a part of the stem of the latter fronda, and the 
thongs he considers as receptacles: but, as far as 
I can see, his receptacles are precisely analogous to the 
lacinie of the frond of this D’Urvillea, (or Laminaria, 
whichever it may be). Further, I suspect the frond 
of the Himanthalia to be an abortive bladder, analogous 
to the trumpet of the Ecklonia buccinalis; for Greville 
says the fronds are, at first, cylindrical and pear-shaped ; then 
they fall in, and become plano-concave. Not being familiar 
with the structure of the British, or true species of the genus 
Laminaria, I cannot tell whether the D'Urvillea in question 
should belong to Fucoidee, or Laminarie : but assuredly, so 
far as published characters avail, to the former. 
* When we reach the Cape of Good Hope, it is my inten- 
tion to seek carefully for seeds of Ecklonia; for I incline to 
believe that, together with Himanthalia and D Urvillea, it 
will form a very pretty group of Algw. If the thongs of 
Himanthalia are receptacles, so must the laminee of D' Urvillea 
be; but I can see no reason why either should be considered 
as such. The sporules and their cells are quite analogous to 
those of a Fucus or Sargassum, where they are contained 
in what are undoubtedly receptacles. "Thus the transition will 
be very simple, through Ceystosria and Halidrys, where the 
leaves are gradually transformed into pods. This weed was 
much infested with barnacles." 
On the 30th of March, the ships were fast i ci 
ing the Cape of Good Hope, with a mild air and soft 
